It is well understood that stents which are not properly secured or retained to the catheter may slip and either be lost or be deployed in the wrong location or partially deployed. Traditionally, in order to provide proper securement of the stent on the catheter the stent is crimped to a predetermined area of the catheter.
In the past, crimping has been done by hand or by a crimping apparatus, often resulting in the application of undesired uneven forces to the stent. Such a stent must either be discarded or re-crimped. Stents which have been crimped multiple times can suffer from fatigue and may be scored or otherwise marked which can cause thrombosis. A poorly crimped stent can also damage the underlying balloon.
Stents and stent delivery assemblies are utilized in a number of medical procedures and situations, and as such their structure and function are well known. A stent is a generally cylindrical prosthesis introduced via a catheter into a lumen of a body vessel in a configuration having a generally reduced diameter and then expanded to the diameter of the vessel. In its expanded configuration, the stent supports and reinforces the vessel walls while maintaining the vessel in an open, unobstructed condition.
The present invention avoids these problems by providing stent retaining sock(s) or sleeves which are capable of securing a stent to the catheter without the need to crimp the stent into place. The sock(s) may be utilized with nearly any type of stent. Both self-expanding and inflation expandable stents are well known and widely available in a variety of designs and configurations. Self-expanding stents must be maintained under a contained sheath or sock(s) in order to maintain their reduced diameter configuration during delivery of the stent to its deployment site. Inflation expandable stents are crimped to their reduced diameter about the delivery catheter, then maneuvered to the deployment site and expanded to the vessel diameter by fluid inflation of a balloon positioned between the stent and the delivery catheter. The present invention is particularly concerned with delivery and deployment of inflation expandable stents, although it is generally applicable to self-expanding stents when used with balloon catheters.
In advancing an inflation expandable stent through a body vessel to the deployment site, there are a number of important considerations. The stent must be able to securely maintain its axial position on the delivery catheter without translocating proximally or distally and especially without becoming separated from the catheter. The stent, particularly its distal and proximal ends, must be protected to prevent distortion of the stent and to prevent abrasion and/or reduce trauma of the vessel walls. It is also important to prevent stent flaring during bending and tracking of the stent.
In light of the above, it would be desirable to employ a stent covering which functions to help retain the stent on the catheter but which could optionally be left on the catheter during stent delivery so as to avoid damaging the stent or causing undesirable movement of the stent during sheath retraction. It would be desirable to provide for a covering which is flexible and which sufficiently covers a stent so as to prevent stent elements from protruding outward from the catheter and interfering with a vessel wall prior to delivery. It would also be desirable to provide a covering which does not increase the profile of the stent delivery catheter beyond its profile without the covering.
Inflation expandable stent delivery and deployment assemblies are known which utilize restraining means that overlie the stent during delivery. U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,227 to Savin et al., relates to an inflation expandable stent delivery system in which a sleeve overlaps the distal or proximal margin (or both) of the stent during delivery. During inflation of the stent at the deployment site, the stent margins are freed of the protective sleeve(s). U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,341 to Solar, relates to a stent delivery and deployment assembly which uses retaining sheaths positioned about opposite ends of the compressed stent. The retaining sheaths of Solar are adapted to tear under pressure as the stent is radially expanded, thus releasing the stent from engagement with the sheaths. U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,416 to Ryan et al., describes a stent introducer system which uses one or two flexible end caps and an annular socket surrounding the balloon to position the stent during introduction to the deployment site.
Other patents which describe socks or sleeves, and material used therefor, include Blaeser et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,726 issued Aug. 31, 1999; Dusbabek et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,968,069, issued Oct. 10, 1999; and Cornelius et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,634, issued May 30, 2000. In addition, co-pending application Ser. Nos. 08/701,979; 08/702,149; 09/273,520; 09/549,286; 09/552,807; 09/668,496; 09/664,267, and 09/664,268 all relate to stent retaining sleeves or socks.
All U.S. patents, applications and all other published documents mentioned anywhere in this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.